What this journey costs
Rs 25,000 to Rs 88,500
- Toyota Yaris or Corolla
- Rs 25,000
- Honda BR-V
- Rs 30,000
- Toyota Hiace Grand Cabin
- Rs 44,500
- Toyota Land Cruiser
- Rs 88,500
Indicative only. The figure we quote for your journey is the one that counts, and once quoted it does not change. What moves a price: the exact addresses at each end, the vehicle the party and luggage actually need, whether the car waits or returns empty, and the motorway toll where one applies.
Leaving Lahore is the hard part. The motorway itself is 379 km of six-lane road that behaves predictably in almost all weather, and the drive takes about four and a half hours. Getting from a Gulberg or Walled City address onto it at Thokar Niaz Baig, through the Motorway Naka, is the segment that decides whether you arrive in Islamabad when you meant to.
Lahore Traffic Police reorganised the city into six management sectors in January 2025 and named the pressure points while doing it. Thokar Niaz Baig and the Motorway Naka head the list, with Babu Sabu Chowk, Multan Chungi and the Burki Road and DHA Phases 6 to 8 cluster behind them. A driver who knows which of those to avoid at nine in the morning saves more time than any amount of speed on the M-2.
The northbound run
Northbound, the Salt Range at Kalar Kahar is a climb rather than a descent, which matters if the car is loaded and matters a great deal if it is underpowered. Service areas at Sukheki, Sial, Bhera, Kalar Kahar and Chakri sit roughly 60 to 80 km apart, and Bhera remains the customary halfway break. The end-to-end toll for a car, jeep or taxi is Rs 1,430 each way, a seven per cent increase that took effect on 5 July 2026 and runs to 23 April 2027 under the National Highway Authority’s concession agreement. Wagons pay Rs 2,390, coasters Rs 3,350 and buses Rs 4,770.
One oddity worth knowing if you are comparing quotes. inDrive’s City to City page recommends about Rs 5,000 for Lahore to Islamabad and about Rs 5,760 for Islamabad to Lahore, on the same road, in the same conditions. Their own numbers are inconsistent because the model is a negotiation rather than a tariff: a passenger names a figure and a driver takes it or does not. It is a real option and often a cheap one. It is also one-way, with no return leg priced in and no vetting of who turns up.
Arriving into two different cities
The M-2 lands you at the M-1 junction west of Rawalpindi, and from there the twin cities behave nothing alike. Islamabad is a planned sector grid where an address such as F-7 or G-11 is effectively a coordinate. Rawalpindi is dense, old and unplanned, and the same nominal distance through Saddar or Raja Bazaar can take twice as long. If your destination is on the Rawalpindi side, say so clearly and give a landmark; if it is a sector address in Islamabad, the sector and street number are enough.
Islamabad has also tightened up on driver identity. Since February 2026 every ride-hailing driver in the capital has had to register through the City Islamabad app with a CNIC and vehicle registration and display a QR code on the windscreen, so passengers can verify who is driving them. For a pre-booked car we send the driver’s photograph and the vehicle registration ahead of pickup, which does the same job before you are standing on a pavement with luggage.
What the alternatives really cost
This is the best-served intercity corridor in Pakistan, so the comparison is honest and it is not always flattering. Read off Bookme on 31 August 2026, the coaches show FM Bilal at Rs 1,581, Skyways at Rs 1,670, Road Master at Rs 1,926, Daewoo Express at Rs 2,670 and Q Connect at Rs 5,950, all scheduled at four hours thirty-three minutes. Daewoo is the reliability benchmark. Q Connect costs more than hiring an entire car through inDrive.
Rail is genuinely competitive on time. Subak Raftar covers the 290 km of track in about four hours thirty-five minutes, leaving Lahore at 07:00 and reaching Rawalpindi at 12:10, with the return at 16:30. Rawal Express runs it in around four hours fifteen. Pakistan Railways raised fares by five per cent on economy and ten per cent on air-conditioned classes for tickets booked from 9 March 2026, so any fare quoted from before that date is wrong, and the class fares published on third-party sites all predate it. The practical barrier for an overseas traveller is not the fare: online booking is tied to a Pakistani national ID number and a Pakistani-issued payment card.
Leave Lahore earlier than feels necessary
The motorway time is stable. The Lahore end is not. If this journey connects with a flight from Islamabad or a fixed appointment, plan the departure around Thokar and the Motorway Naka rather than around the four-and-a-half-hour figure.
Tell us the journey and we will price it. A submitted request is not a booking until availability, price and terms are confirmed.
The journey in figures
- Distance
- 379 km on the M-2, about 390 km door to door
- Drive time
- About 4 hours 30 minutes
- Road
- M-2 motorway, joining at Thokar Niaz Baig
- Motorway toll
- Rs 1,430 for a car, each way
- Where drivers stop
- Bhera is the usual halfway break; the Salt Range descent at Kalar Kahar is the one real gradient
National Highway Authority rate, in force 5 July 2026 to 23 April 2027.
Every way of making this journey
We are one row in this table, and not the cheapest one. Here is what the alternatives actually cost and what each of them asks of you.
| Option | Typical cost | Time | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bus, FM Bilal or Skyways | Rs 1,581 - 1,670 | 4 h 33 m | Departs Thokar, which is already 20 km out of central Lahore. |
| Bus, Daewoo Express | Rs 2,670 | 4 h 33 m | The reliability benchmark on this corridor. |
| Bus, Q Connect premium | Rs 5,950 | 4 h 33 m | Costs more than hiring a whole car through inDrive. |
| Train, AC Business | Rs 2,800 - 3,800 | About 4 h 35 m | Subak Raftar leaves Lahore at 07:00. Online booking needs a Pakistani ID and card. |
| inDrive City to City | Rs 5,000 | About 4 h 30 m | One way, negotiated, unvetted driver. |
| iDrive.pk, car with a driver | Rs 25,000 to Rs 88,500 | — | A fixed price once quoted, a vetted driver whose photo and vehicle registration you see before the journey, and a car sized to your party and luggage. Booked before you travel, so it does not depend on having a local SIM when you land. |
Costs for other operators checked on August 31, 2026 and published from their own booking systems, official notices or named third-party sources. Fuel in Pakistan moved from Rs 264.61 a litre in September 2025 to Rs 343.10 by August 2026, so fares here move quickly. Treat these as a guide and confirm with the operator.
Which vehicle actually fits
Seat counts are the manufacturer figures. The passenger and luggage numbers beside them are what the vehicle carries in practice, with the cases people really travel with. If your party is near the limit, tell us the number of bags rather than the number of people, because that is what decides it.
- Suzuki WagonR 3 passengers, 2 cases Short city transfers on a budget. The tall boot helps more than the engine does.
- Toyota Yaris or Corolla 3 to 4 passengers, 2 to 3 large cases The workhorse. City work, airport transfers and the motorway run between Lahore and Islamabad.
- Honda BR-V 5 passengers with luggage, or 7 with almost none Family airport transfers on paved routes. The third row eats the boot, so it suits children or short hops rather than seven adults with cases. Not a mountain vehicle.
- Toyota Fortuner 5 passengers with full luggage, 7 travelling light Rough road and mountain work: Skardu, Hunza, Naran, Babusar. Ask for the diesel four-wheel-drive, because the petrol version is two-wheel-drive.
- Toyota Land Cruiser 4 to 5 passengers with full luggage Protocol and expedition work, and a genuine choice for Skardu and Deosai. It returns 5 to 10 km a litre, which at Rs 343 a litre is the honest reason it costs what it costs.
- Toyota Hiace Grand Cabin 13 passengers plus the driver The group and family vehicle. Gulf arrivals into Sialkot and Peshawar with heavy luggage, tour groups, weddings, long intercity runs.
- Toyota Coaster 25 to 29 passengers with hold luggage Large groups, corporate shuttles and pilgrimage travel. Worth knowing that the motorway toll alone is Rs 3,350 each way against Rs 1,430 for a car.
How booking works
- 01 Tell us the journey Where from, where to, when, how many of you and how much luggage. Precise addresses matter more than you would think, because a Rawalpindi address and an Islamabad address twenty minutes apart are very different journeys.
- 02 We quote a fixed price One figure for the whole journey, with the vehicle class it assumes. If a motorway toll or a waiting period is part of it, you see that too.
- 03 You see the driver and the car Before the journey you get the driver photograph and the vehicle registration, so you know exactly who and what you are looking for.
- 04 You travel At an airport your driver waits inside arrivals with a name sign. Check the photograph and the registration plate against what we sent you before you get in.
Frequently asked questions
How long is Lahore to Islamabad by road?
About 379 km on the M-2 and roughly four and a half hours in normal conditions. Door to door it is nearer 390 km once both city ends are counted.
Where does the motorway start in Lahore?
At Thokar Niaz Baig on the western edge of the city, through the Motorway Naka. Lahore Traffic Police name Thokar as one of the city’s main pressure points, so allow for it when planning a departure time.
What is the toll?
Rs 1,430 one way for a car, jeep or taxi, end to end, under the National Highway Authority rate effective 5 July 2026 to 23 April 2027. Wagons are Rs 2,390, coasters Rs 3,350 and buses Rs 4,770.
Can the car drop me in Rawalpindi rather than Islamabad?
Yes. Rawalpindi addresses take longer to reach than Islamabad sector addresses because the street pattern is older and denser, so give a landmark and a nearby main road alongside the address.
Is the train faster?
Not meaningfully. Subak Raftar takes about four hours thirty-five minutes over 290 km of track and Rawal Express about four hours fifteen, against roughly four and a half hours by motorway, and both leave you needing a transfer at each end.
Why can I not book the train online from abroad?
Pakistan Railways sells online tickets against a Pakistani national ID number and accepts payment only from Pakistani-issued cards. Overseas visitors generally cannot complete the booking themselves.
What do the coaches cost?
On Bookme on 31 August 2026 the corridor showed FM Bilal at Rs 1,581, Skyways at Rs 1,670, Road Master at Rs 1,926, Daewoo Express at Rs 2,670 and Q Connect at Rs 5,950, all at four hours thirty-three minutes, terminal to terminal.
Do you drive at night?
The M-2 is lit, fenced and patrolled, and night running on it is normal. The judgement call is the city segment at each end and the driver’s duty hours, so tell us the timing you want and we will say plainly whether it is sensible.
Can I add a stop in Faisalabad or Sargodha?
Faisalabad is reachable from the M-2 corridor via the M-4 and is a common diversion. Add any stop to the request so the route and the time can be assessed before the price is fixed.
What size vehicle do I need for a family of six with luggage?
A seven-seat vehicle carries six people but not always six people’s bags, because the third row usually takes the boot. For six with full luggage on a 379 km run, a Grand Cabin is the safer choice. Tell us the number of cases and we will match the vehicle to them.
Will I know who is driving before the car arrives?
Yes. The driver’s photograph and the vehicle registration are sent to you before pickup.
Is the quoted price final?
Yes, for the journey as described. The price is fixed once quoted and accepted. If the route, the stops or the timing change, we requote rather than adjust at the end.
Tell us the journey and we will price it
Send the route, the date, the number of travelling and how many cases you have. You will get one price for the whole journey and the vehicle class it assumes. If we cannot cover it properly we will say so rather than take the booking.